Evaluating enterprise policy interventions in Africa: a critical review of Ghanaian small business support services

Obeng, Bernard Aquah and Blundel, Richard K. (2015). Evaluating enterprise policy interventions in Africa: a critical review of Ghanaian small business support services. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(2) pp. 416–435.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12072

Abstract

Enterprise policies play a central role in economic development across Africa, but more effective, evidence-based policy evaluation is required to inform future interventions. The paper aims to: (i) contribute to filling this gap; (ii) develop more rigorous and appropriate evaluation methodologies. It examines the issues through an empirical study into non-use of small business support services in Ghana. Survey evidence from 253 owner-managers was complemented by interviews with owner-managers and service providers. It concludes that policy evaluation in Sub-Saharan Africa would benefit from multi-method approaches to address the lack of official small firm datasets and facilitate more in-depth understanding.